Exercise and Rest

The best exercise is the one you will do regularly…almost in any form.

My suggestions:

Yoga –

there are many benefits to yoga, among the best are: increased strength, flexibility, endurance and balance.

Interval Training –

Benefits: very time effective, and it increases fat burning efficiency of the body, even when not exercising. Interval training is done by exercising at maximum intensity for 30 seconds, minimum intensity (or rest) 60 seconds, then repeat for a total of 8 times. Total time intense 4 minutes, total time exercising 12 minutes. Interval training is best done 2-3 times per week. Considering doing interval training with aerobic exercises like elliptical, running, swimming, stair stepping, jump roping, etc.) As your fitness level improves, you will increase your intensity but never for more than 60 seconds at a time; that means that you will not exercise more than 16 minutes while interval training.

Resistance training –

Resistance training increases metabolism, and is great for increasing the “fat burning” capabilities of the body. You can use weights or resistance bands. Focus on the large muscle groups of the body (hips, thighs, upper extremities etc). Consider squats, lunges, push-ups, overhead press, dips, pull ups/downs. The most benefits come from doing movements very slow, –following a full range of motion, taking 7-10 seconds for each movement direction, and using weight that only allows about 8 repetitions before fatigue. As you become stronger, increase weight, not repetition to maximize the benefit. This will increase muscle cell utilization and increase the “fat burning” ability of the body by increasing your metabolism.

Rest

Getting 8-9 hours of sleep is critical!!

Insufficient sleep affects weight gain. People getting five hours are 50 percent more likely to be obese, six hours are 23 percent more likely to be obese. Rising obesity in children may be linked to getting too little sleep. Even with an excellent diet and regular exercise, those who do not sleep enough are at a greater risk for weight gain/fat retention. It also puts one at risk of unstable blood sugar (hypoglycemia or diabetes), inflammation, failure to repair and heal (certain hormones and chemicals are only produced during certain sleep stages), and decrease memory and recall.

My recommendations:

8-9 hours of sleep during normal sleep hours (9pm-7am)

Got to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Do not change one because of the other.

Eat dinner three hours before going to bed.

Invest in a good comfortable bed.

Avoid stimulants and “stress” several hours before going to bed. This includes TV, internet, too much food, aerobic exercise, alcohol, and caffeine (which has a 12 hour half life, so 25% of the coffee you had at breakfast or 50% of the soft drink you had at lunch is still around in the evening).